Artera Solus Play Wireless Streaming Integrated Amplifier/DAC/Preamp/CD Player

The QUAD Artera Solus Play is the latest addition to the best-selling QUAD Artera series. It also heralds the arrival of wireless audio streaming and multi-room technology to the established QUAD Artera portfolio. Based on the recently upgraded and richly specified Artera Solus, the QUAD Artera Solus Play incorporates the acclaimed DTS Play-Fi® platform for high resolution wireless audio streaming. With DTS Play-Fi® Technology, music can be streamed over your wireless network in high-resolution format and can be easily expanded to an ultimate multi-room system if required. You can stream from any source on your wireless network, including smart-phones, tablets or PCs as well as a NAS Drive.
 
SMART AESTHETICS
 
The Artera Solus Play’s Wi-Fi networking is powered by DTS Play-Fi: an app-controlled platform enabling high-quality, whole-home wireless audio, capable of streaming hi-res music up to 24-bit/192kHz and supported by a greater range of established audio brands than any other wireless platform.
 
WIRELESS STREAMING TECHNOLOGY
 
Play-Fi supports a wide variety of file formats, including MP3, MP4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV and AIFF. In standard mode, which is optimised for multi-room bandwidth, audio is streamed at up to 16-bit/48kHz – akin to CD-quality. By engaging Play-Fi’s Critical Listening Mode, hi-res audio up to 24-bit/192kHz may be streamed to the Artera Solus Play over Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable, without transcoding or down-sampling.
 
There are other ways to stream music to the Artera Solus Play wirelessly, other than via the Play-Fi app. Spotify users can connect directly from the Spotify app thanks to Spotify Connect, and you can stream from smartphones and tablets without connecting to the local Wi-Fi network thanks to aptX Bluetooth.
 
AMP IT UP
 
The Artera Solus Play’s preamp and power amp stages incorporate balanced circuitry, short and direct signal paths and high-quality components to preserve sonic purity. Volume is adjusted in the analogue domain under microprocessor control, outputting directly to the dual-mono Class AB power amp stage which delivers 2x75W into eight ohms. To minimise distortion, the power supplies for the left and right channels are isolated from each other as well as from the rest of the system.
 
The discrete power amp circuits’ output stage uses a CFB (Complementary Feedback) topology in combination with conventional emitter follower circuitry. The CFB stage offers superior linearity and ensures excellent thermal stability, as the idle current is kept independent of the temperature of the output transistors. Using an emitter follower in combination with the CFB stage is an efficient way of increasing the current ability of the amplifier without compromising the advantages of the CFB circuit.
 
Having the emitter follower deliver additional current only when needed allows for a simpler current-limiting arrangement, which can be voltage-independent. Current limiting is under microprocessor control and programmed to allow the amplifier to supply high currents (+/- 15A) into complex loads, surpassing amplifiers that are bigger and more powerful on paper. A 300VA toroidal transformer supplies the two mono amplifiers using separate secondary windings, followed by 2x15000uF reservoir capacity per channel (60000uF in total).
 
GET CONNECTED
 
Cable connectivity options are plentiful. Six digital inputs – two coaxial, two optical, USB
Type B and Ethernet – cater for external digital sources (there’s also a USB Type A socket for software updates) while a pair of RCA inputs handle analogue sources. Analogue outputs are supplied in both single-ended RCA and balanced XLR varieties, with the four-channel volume control preserving the balanced signal path from the DAC to the XLR output. A pair of high-quality speaker binding posts, optical and coaxial digital outputs, a 12V trigger output and a front-mounted jack coupled to a dedicated headphone amp circuit complete a comprehensive connectivity array.